Press TV has conducted an interview with Joe Iosbaker, United National Anti-War Committee, Chicago about Nelson Mandela and what the US has learned or could learn from how it dealt with him during his lifetime.

Christian Palestinians on Sunday joined global prayers for Nelson Mandela, remembering the South African leader and anti-apartheid icon's staunch support for their struggle to end the Israeli occupation. In the West Bank city of Ramallah, senior Palestine Liberation Organisation officials joined about 200 members of the public at a mass in the Holy Family Roman Catholic church celebrated by former Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah. The church was decorated with a photograph of Mandela and another showing him with the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. “The loss of Nelson Mandela is deeply felt not only in South Africa, but in Palestine as well and throughout the world," PLO executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi was quoted by the organisation as saying after the service. "To him Palestine was not a question of solidarity or advocacy, but was one that he internalised and participated in as one of us," she said, calling Mandela an "embodiment of the conscience of the world." In Bethlehem, an estimated 250-300 people attended mass at Saint Catherine's Catholic Church, part of the Church of the Nativity complex marking the traditional site of Jesus Christ's birth. A photograph of Mandela was displayed in front of the altar. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Christian affairs advisor Ziad al-Bandak took part, along with Bethlehem's mayor. The PLO said that services were also held elsewhere in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian leaders on Friday drew on the legacy of Nelson Mandela, a high-profile supporter of their cause, likening his fight against apartheid to their own struggle to end Israeli occupation.

Tributes to the late South African leader, whose death was announced Thursday, flooded in from Palestinian leaders.

Their tone was far more politicized than the eulogies of their Israeli counterparts, and came as US Secretary of State John Kerry wound up another mission aimed at boosting fragile peace talks.

"You said: 'We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians,'" invoked jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghuti in an "open letter" to Mandela.

"And from within my prison cell, I tell you our freedom seems possible because you reached yours," wrote the man known by his people as "the Palestinian Mandela".

"You are more than an inspiration," he wrote from inside prison where he is serving five life sentences for attacks on Israeli targets.

"Apartheid did not prevail in South Africa, and apartheid shall not prevail in Palestine," he added.

Barghuti is widely believed to have masterminded the second Palestinian intifada that erupted in 2000. He was arrested in April 2002 and sentenced two years later.

Barghuti has since said he never supported attacks on civilians inside Israel and in recent years has thrown his support behind peaceful resistance.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas was also quick to weigh in.

"This is a great loss for all the peoples of the world, and for Palestine," Abbas said, hailing a "symbol of freedom from colonialism and occupation."

"The Palestinian people will never forget his historic statement that the South African revolution will not have achieved its goals as long as the Palestinians are not free," he said.

Palestinian protest 'apartheid wall'

Palestinian protesters who hold weekly demonstrations in West Bank villages also remembered Mandela as they demonstrated Friday against Israel's separation barrier that cuts through the territory.

Israel says it is building the barrier for security reasons but the Palestinians brand it the "apartheid wall," and on Friday they also hung pictures of Mandela on barbed wire separating them from Israeli troops.

The Palestinian commemorations focused more on Mandela's politics - notably invoking his struggle against white minority rule in South Africa - than the tributes from Israel's politicians did.

Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Mandela as "a fighter for human rights" and a "man of vision and a freedom fighter who disavowed violence."

Despite his pacifist instincts, Mandela never renounced violence in the struggle against apartheid and his African National Congress had an active military wing during his long incarceration.

Mandela, who first visited Israel and the Palestinian territories in 1999, was an ardent supporter of the Palestinian cause and a champion for Middle East peace.

Mandela had said of late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat that he "was one of the outstanding freedom fighters of his generation. ... It is with great sadness that one notes that his and his people's dream of a Palestinian state had not been realized."

Mandela's relationship with Israel was less warm, with it being a South African ally during the apartheid era.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat on Friday quoted Mandela as saying: "Never in the darkest hours of South Africa's apartheid have there been separated roads for blacks and whites," in an allusion to West Bank highways for Israeli use but closed to Palestinians.

And across the West Bank-Gaza divide, the Islamist Hamas movement - Abbas' bitter foe - also eulogized Mandela.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and remains a champion of the armed struggle against Israel despite a year-old Egyptian-brokered truce, paid tribute to a "great fighter."

Mandela was "one of the most important symbols of freedom and one of the most important supporters of the Palestinian people's cause," Hamas spokesman Mussa Abu Marzuq said.

Meanwhile, Kerry left Israel and the Palestinian territories after a 36-hour trip to try to breathe life into a stagnant Middle East peace process, urging leaders to take inspiration from Mandela in their negotiations.

"The naysayers are wrong to call peace in this region an impossible goal," Kerry said, before quoting Mandela: "It always seems impossible until it's done."

Political bureau chairman of Hamas Khaled Mishaal and his deputy Ismail Haneyya have expressed grief at the passing away of former South African president Nelson Mandela. Mishaal described Mandela in a press release on Friday as the symbol of resistance and human struggle. “Mandela led his people to freedom and backed struggle of other peoples including the Palestinian people,” Mishaal underlined. He extended condolences to Mandela’s family and people, and to the free people of the world and to humanity at large. For his part, Haneyya, who is also the premier of the Palestinian government in Gaza, said that the Palestinian people were learning lessons from Mandela’s march toward freedom, unity, and respect of democracy. For its part, Hamas movement extended condolences to the government and people of the Republic South Africa on the death of Mandela who passed away on Thursday night. It said that Mandela spent his life in defense of freedom of the oppressed people of the world and struggled against racism and oppression and voiced courageous stands in support of the Palestine cause. Hamas called on all people of the world to benefit from Mandela’s life experiences and to follow his footsteps in defense of freedom and values of justice and against all forms of oppression. Mandela was imprisoned in the jails of racist South Africa for 27 years before he was released then elected as president of the country after the end of the apartheid regime. Mandela, who won the Nobel peace prize, was a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and liberation. He died at age 95.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured and one detained as Israeli forces opened fire to disperse protests against the Israeli occupation and commemorating Nelson Mandela's death across the West Bank on Friday afternoon.

Protests against the Israeli occupation and separation wall took place in villages across the West Bank, including in Bilin, al-Masara, Kafr Qaddum, and Nabi Saleh.

Demonstrators raised slogans and posters of South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in many villages, commemorating the legacy of the "freedom fighter" who passed away on Thursday.

Many Palestinian activists argue that the system of racial segregation in South Africa that existed until 1994 resembles the Israel treatment of Palestinians, referring to the current situation as "Israeli apartheid."

Bilin

Dozens of Palestinians suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation and another was detained as Israeli forces dispersed the weekly protest in Bilin near Ramallah.

Palestinian, Israeli and international activists who participated in the protest raised Palestinian flags and posters of the late South African president Nelson Mandela. They chanted songs calling for unity, in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and against the Israeli occupation.

This week's protest commemorated Mandela's legacy and his fight against apartheid in South Africa.

AbdulKadir Abu Rahma, 20, was detained during the protest.

Since 2005, Bilin villagers have protested on a weekly basis against the Israeli separation wall that runs through their village on land confiscated from local farmers.

Previous protests by Bilin activists have forced the Israeli authorities to re-route the wall, but large chunks of the village lands remain inaccessible to residents because of the route.

Al-Masara

Israeli forces on Friday also dispersed a protest against the separation wall in al-Masara south of Bethlehem.

Protesters marched from the center of the village and raised Palestinian flags in the demonstration which was held in honor of late South African President Nelson Mandela as well as late Egyptian poet and social critic Ahmad Fouad Najm.

Hassan Brejia, coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall, said "since its beginning, the Palestinian revolution has gained its strength from other revolutions including South Africa and its symbol Nelson Mandela, who was always a help for the struggle and fighting of Palestinians."

Brejia also praised the position of a Druze man, Omar Saad, who went to jail this week after he refused to serve in the Israeli army.

Since 2006, the residents of al-Masara have protested on a weekly basis, demanding Israeli authorities return village lands confiscated in order to build the separation wall as it crosses through their town.

Kafr Qaddum

Two people were injured and dozens others suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation as Israeli forces dispersed a protest in Kafr Qaddum.

Spokesman of the popular resistance committee Murad Eshtewi said Israeli forces raided the village after the weekly demonstration started, firing tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber-coated steel bullets.

Nasser Barham, 43, and Bashar Eshtewi, 43, were struck by tear gas canisters in the arm and abdomen, he added.

Eshtewi said that today's demonstration was in protest against the recurrent raids of al-Aqsa by Israeli extremists, and in response to the "repression" suffered by the people in the village at the hands of Israeli forces.

Israeli forces erected a checkpoint at the entrance of the village in the morning, declared it a closed military zone, and prevented ambulances and journalists from entering the village until the demonstration ended.

Protests are held every Friday in Kafr Qaddum against Israel's closure of a main road linking the village to its nearest city, Nablus.

Nabi Saleh

In Nabi Saleh, Israeli forces dispersed demonstrators who marched throughout the village raising Palestinian flags as well as photographs of Mustafa Tamimi, who was shot dead by Israeli forces at a similar rally in 2011.

Israeli forces opened fire on the demonstrations throughout the day with tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber bullets.

Protestors marked the second anniversary of his death by beginning the protest at the village cemetery and demonstrating in front of his house. They also marched to the site where Tamimi was killed two years ago.

In a statement, the village popular resistance committee also expressed condolences at the passing of late South African leader Nelson Mandela, highlighting his work as a "freedom fighter" who "fought against injustice" and stressing that his passing is a "great loss for humanity."

In 2004, the International Court of Justice called on Israel to stop construction of the separation wall within the occupied West Bank.

When completed, 85 percent of the wall will run inside the West Bank.

The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.

Marwan Barghouthi, a Palestinian political figure convicted and imprisoned for "murder" by an Israeli court, sent a message from Hadarim Israeli jail following the announcement of Nelson Mandela's death, as follows: "During the long years of my own struggle, I had the occasion to think many times of you, dear Nelson Mandela. Even more since my arrest in 2002. I think of a man who spent 27 years in a prison cell, only to demonstrate that freedom was within him before becoming a reality his people could enjoy. I think of his capacity to defy oppression and apartheid, but also to defy hatred and to choose justice over vengeance. "How many times did you doubt the outcome of this struggle? How many times did you ask yourself if justice will prevail? How many times did you wonder why is the world so silent? How many times did you wonder whether your enemy could ever become your partner? At the end, your will proved unbreakable making your name one of the most shining names of freedom. "You are much more than an inspiration. You must have known, the day you came out of prison, that you were not only writing history, but contributing to the triumph of light over darkness, and yet you remained humble. And you carried a promise far beyond the limits of your countries' borders, a promise that oppression and injustice will be vanquished, paving the way to freedom and peace. In my prison cell, I remind myself daily of this quest, and all sacrifices become bearable by the sole prospect that one day the Palestinian people will also be able to enjoy freedom, return and independence, and this land will finally enjoy peace. "You became an icon to allow your cause to shine and to impose itself on the international stage. Universality to counter isolation. You became a symbol around which all those who believe in the universal values that found your struggle could rally, mobilise and act. Unity is the law of victory for oppressed people. The tiny cell and the hours of forced labor, the solitude and the darkness, did not prevent you from seeing the horizon and sharing your vision. Your country has become a lighthouse and we, as Palestinians, are setting sails to reach its shores. "You said "We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians". And from within my prison cell, I tell you our freedom seems possible because you reached yours. Apartheid did not prevail in South Africa, and Apartheid shall not prevail in Palestine. We had the great privilege to welcome in Palestine a few months ago, your comrade and companion in struggle Ahmed Kathrada, who launched, following this visit, the International Campaign for the freedom of Palestinian prisoners from your own cell, where an important part of universal history was shaped, demonstrating that the ties between our struggles are everlasting. "Your capacity to be a unifying figure, and to lead from within the prison cell, and to be entrusted with the future of your people while being deprived of your ability to choose your own, are the marks of a great and exceptional leader and of a truly historical figure. I salute the freedom fighter and the peace negotiator and maker, the military commander and the inspirer of peaceful resistance, the relentless militant and the statesman. "You have dedicated your life to ensure freedom and dignity, justice and reconciliation, peace and coexistence can prevail. Many now honour your struggle in their speeches. In Palestine, we promise to pursue the quest for our common values, and to honour your struggle not only through words, but by dedicating our lives to the same goals. Freedom dear Madiba, shall prevail, and you contributed tremendously in making this belief a certainty. Rest in Peace, and may God bless your unconquerable soul."Marwan BarghouthiHadarim prisonCell n°28

South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela has passed away at age 95 in his Johannesburg home, South African President Jacob Zuma announced on Friday. Mandela was the first black president of South Africa. He received more than 250 awards over four decades, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. Mandela, due years of resistance against apartheid rule in South Africa, was arrested in 1962 and served over 27 years in prison. Zuma said, "His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world. His humility, his compassion and his humanity earned him their love." Mandela had been receiving home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital. He had been suffering from chronic respiratory conditions, probably due to the fact that he contracted tuberculosis in prison years ago, PressTV reported. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday, that Mandela is "a symbol of freedom from the colonization and occupation. The Palestinians have lost a father and a supporter." Abbas announced a one-day period of mourning on Friday.

The Elders strongly opposed Israel’s newly announced construction plans for East Jerusalem, warning that they seriously undermine the current peace negotiations. Speaking on behalf of the group, the Chair of The Elders, Nobel Peace Laureate Kofi Annan stated:

“Continued settlement building is deeply unhelpful at this critical moment in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Such settlements are illegal under international law and pose a serious threat to the realisation of the two-state solution to the conflict, based on a viable and contiguous Palestinian territory.”

About The Elders

The Elders are independent leaders using their collective experience and influence for peace, justice and human rights worldwide. The group was founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007.